WebsitesFor Square Dance Clubs and Other

Organizations

By Garland Smith

What Is The Purpose of the

Website?

Share Information With the Public

Home Page

Officers and Contact Information

Dance Location

Club History

Dance Schedule

Pictures and Videos

Share Links to Other Websites and Web Pages (organizations

and other clubs, articles, etc…).

Member Only Area

Club Roster

Private Information

How Will the Website Be

Hosted?

Use Free Hosting (i.e. WordPress.com)

Pros

It’s Free

WordPress Is Easy To Use

Cons

It’s Not As Flexible As Self-Hosted

How Will the Website Be

Hosted, Cont…?

Club Pays Yearly Hosting Fee

Pros

Consistent Hosting

No Need to Depend On Anyone Else

Cons

Cost

Knowledge

How Will the Website Be

Hosted, Cont…?

Club Member or Other Benefactor

Pros

No Additional Cost (many web hosting packages allow

unlimited domains at no additional cost).

Cons

Club Member Drops Out Of the Club

Club Member Drops Their Web Hosting

What Framework Will Be

Used?

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)

Pros

Total Control of the Layout and Look and Feel of the

Website

HTML Standards

Cons

Learning Curve

It’s Tedious

Lack of Flexibility

What Framework Will Be Used, Cont…?

Use a Drag and Drop Website Builder (i.e. Wix)

Pros

WYSIWIG (What You See Is What You Get)

Intuitive Methodology

Cons

You’re locked In (it can be difficult to migrate later).

It Is Not Easy to Make Wholesale Changes to the Look and Feel If You Decide You Don’t Like What You’ve Built. (Aesthetics are subjective – What looks good to one is uglier than original sin to another).

Wix Pricing Plans Tend To Cost More Than Competitors.

Issues With the Drag and Drop Methodology (things don’t always show up the way you want them to).

What Framework Is Best for Website, Cont…

Use a Web-Based Tool (i.e. WordPress)

Pros

WordPress Is Open Source

WordPress Is Easy To Use

Changes Take Effect Immediately Upon Publishing

Cons

Learning Curve

Who Will Build/Maintain the

Website?

Club Member

Pros

Club Member Sense of Accomplishment

Club Member Has Vested Interest In Getting the Site Up

And Running

Cons

Club Member Drops Out of the Club

Club Member Loses Interest

Club Member Gets Busy With Work Or Other Projects

Who Will Build/Maintain the Website, Cont…?

Benefactor

Pros

A Friend Sharing Expertise

Takes Responsibility Off Club Members (especially if no

one has the required knowledge)

Cons

Persons Not Affiliated With the Club Have No Vested

Interest

Benefactor May Lose Interest

Benefactor May Become Too Busy

Benefactor May Develop Health Issues or Have Other

Obligations

Benefactor May Drop Out of Square Dancing Entirely

What Happens After the

Website Is Up And Running?

Information Needs To Be Kept Up-To-Date (dance location, dance schedule, dance start/end time, dance program such as early rounds, Caller/Cuer)

You Decide To Add To the Website (new pages, new functionality, etc…)

You Decide To Modify the Site’s Look And Feel

Who Will Maintain and Keep Your Website Up-To-Date?

What Happens If the Person Who Built and Maintains the Site Is Not Available (either temporarily or permanently)

What Happens If the Password Gets Lost?

What Happens If the Web Hosting Gets Disrupted (hosting companies sometimes go belly-up, someone forgot to pay the web hosting, etc…).

Does Your Club Have A

Website? If Yes

Who Built It?

Who Maintains It?

Where Is It Hosted?

Who Pays For the Web Hosting?

Do You Pay For It Directly Or Is It Part Of Someone Else’s Web

Hosting?

What Would You Do If the Web Hosting Got Terminated?

What Framework Is Used (HTML, WordPress, Wix, etc…)?

What Would Happen If the Person Responsible For Maintaining the

Website Was

Not Available (either temporarily or permanently)?

Do You Like the Website (could be due to aesthetics, functionality,

etc…)?

If You Decided To Redo the Website, How Would You Go About It?

Does Your Club Have A Website, Cont…?

If No And You Would You Like To Have A Website

Who Will Make Decisions Regarding Aesthetics, Functionality, etc…?

Club Officers

Person Building the Website?

Who Will Build It?

Who Will Maintain It?

Where Will It Be Hosted?

Who Will Pay For the Web Hosting?

Will You Pay For It Directly Or Will It Be Part Of Someone Else’s Web Hosting?

What Would You Do If the Web Hosting Got Terminated Later?

What Framework Will You Use (HTML, WordPress, Wix, etc…)?

What Happens If the Person Responsible For Maintaining the Website Becomes Unavailable (either temporarily or permanently)?

Keeping Your Website Up-

To-Date

If Visitors Come to Your Website and See That It Hasn’t Been Updated in a While, They Probably Won’t Come Back. Event the Most Minor Details Need to Be Considered.

Change in Contact Information (Officers change, people go on vacation, illness, etc…)

Change in Dance Start Time

Dance Cancelled

Change in Dance Program (classes, rounds, etc…)

Change in Caller/Cuer

Change in Location

Changes to Keep the Site Fresh

Message of the Day

Images, Videos, & Links

Contingencies…

What If Your Website Gets Hacked?

What If Objectionable Content Gets Added to Your Website?

Is Anyone Monitoring Your Website?

Questions and Discussion